An Echo is a Powerful Thing
by Eldunari Liduen
Summary: Of all the people he never thought he would see again, she was near the top of the list. The Doctor 11th meets Jenny… though she hasn't the slightest clue who he is… and she's regenerated. Post-series 6 with Amy and Rory back on the TARDIS.
1. Prolouge

_**Doctor Who**_** and all related characters/places/things are property of the BBC, not me.**

He tried not to think about her too much. She was an echo. But an echo is powerful. An echo can start an avalanche if it's loud enough.

It was a year ago today, at least by his internal reckoning. Difficult to keep track given his lifestyle.

She had been so young. Her life was measured in hours. Not days. Not weeks. Not years. Biologically she may have been older, but not really. She had barely begun to live. Barely been free of what the machine had inculcated in her.

The Doctor's lips twitch in a fleeting smile as he remembers the short time he had with Jenny. How she had loved the running just as much as he did. How proud he was when she realized she didn't have to kill. He closes his eyes, calling up the sound of her two hearts. Just like his, but so different.

Yes, she had been an echo, but she had been _his_ echo.


	2. Chapter 1

_**Doctor Who**_** and all related characters/places/things are property of the BBC, not me.**

* * *

It was one of those rare times that nothing had gone wrong. Well, a slight incident involving local customs and the fact that jazz hands translated into an insult on Nitalbref… But other than that, their visit to the planet that boasted four suns and six moons was going smoothly.

A little too smoothly for the Doctor's tastes.

Not that he _wants _something of catastrophic proportions to happen… but he is quite bored what with Amy and Rory off on a "date night" that he had been firmly told to stay away from. So while the Ponds (or Williams, depending on which one you asked) are off seeing the silver mountains and the living metal gardens, the Doctor is stuck with a cup of the planet's version of tea at a small corner café in a largeish-mid-sized town.

Leaning back in his terrace seat, the Doctor resigns himself to watching the people walking by the café. Quite a few races- from multiple neighboring planets- walk by. Nitalbref is a tourist planet- but not a well-known one like Apalapucia or Disney Planet. It was one of those low-key relaxation-centered getaways.

The Doctor glances back at the small table, just for a moment, to pick his tea cup up when he feels a slight shiver go down his spine and smells…_something_ somehow familiar… yet new.

Sitting up slightly straighter in the metal-mesh backed chair, he scans the mid-sized crowd within his eyesight. No one _seems_ familiar but…

He shakes his head. _No_, the Doctor thinks, _that would be impossible…_

But his sense of _some_thing familiar _some_where nearby compels him to continue his scan of the crowd. He's about to give it up and pass if off as one of those strange coincidences that the Universe likes to arrange for fun, when a young woman with shortly cropped dark brown hair passes not two feet in front of him, jogging at a swift pace. One that stands out amongst the generally relaxed crowd in the town.

The Doctor draws a deep breath through his nose. _No. Can't be._ But there's no denying it now.

Leaping the wrought-iron fence that separates the café's outdoor seating from the rest of the sidewalk, the Doctor runs after her, shouting one word. One of the many he never thought he would again:

"Jenny!"

The woman doesn't stop though. Her pace increases, if anything. The Doctor speeds up as well, not about to let her get away. Not after what happened. Not after what he thought happened.

"Jenny!" he tries again, tweed jacket flapping behind him.

The woman looks over her shoulder as she continues to run, squinting at the strange man running after her. With her head turned, her pace slows just enough to allow the Doctor to catch up and place a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"Look," the woman snaps, "I don't know who you are or how you know my name, but I can't stop now.

The Doctor's face falls. "Jenny, it's-"

Her green eyes widen. "Duck!" she yells, pushing the Doctor to the pavement. No sooner do they hit the ground than does a pointed javelin sail over their heads and crashes through a store front window, exploding on impact.

Glancing behind him as this street on the peaceful-near-zero-crime planet is thrown into confusion at the sound of the explosion and the store alarm sounding, the Doctor spots a figure dressed from head to toe in near-black purple with not an inch of skin showing. On the figure's back is a quiver filled with more javelins. It reaches for another.

Jenny grabs the Doctor's hand, yanks him to a standing position and utters one word:

"Run."


	3. Chapter 2

_**Doctor Who**_** and all related characters/places/things are property of the BBC, not me.**

* * *

"Jenny if you would just _listen_-_"_

"I don't have time. This way," she says, yanking on the Doctor's arm and jerking him into an alleyway. "Stay there." Dropping her knapsack on the ground, she hugs the brick wall of the building and cautiously looks around the corner at their pursuer.

"Jenny-"

"Shook 'im. For now, at least. Knows I'm here now."

"Who is he?"

"Not so much of a he as an it," Jenny explains, dropping to her knees and opening her backpack. She continues as she rummages through its contents. "It's a Kroian guard unit gone a tad rouge. The Kroians-"

"Build robotic guards for private companies. Yes, I know." The Doctor joins her on the ground." But why's it after you?"

"I may or may not have accidentally… inconvenienced the company it was bought for," she admits, pulling out odds and ends as she goes.

"Meaning….?"

Jenny sighs. "It was bought for the Yaraman Corporation- a laundering front if you will. The Kroian units are supposed to be able to only follow the laws of the planets or systems they're assigned to, but the Yaraman Corporation found a way to hack 'em. Or at least fool them into thinking that they are running a legitimate galaxy-wide shipping company as opposed to trafficking Goranda seeds."

"But those are illegal on, what?, 89 percent of all habitable planets! The Kroian units shouldn't be able to-"

"All planets now, actually," Jenny says as she begins to snap the pieces she extracted from her knapsack together. "And you're right- they shouldn't. And that's why I went to stop them and in the process was identified as a target for that particular Kroian unit," she explains, jerking her head in the general direction of their cyber stalker.

"_You_ went to stop them? Who told you that you had to do that?"

Jenny smiles and gives a short chuckle. "Long story. My dad did- sort of at least." She snaps one last piece onto the contraption she had been placing together for the past few minutes. Turning the smallish-bat-sized device over in her hands, checking for any faults, Jenny slowly approaches the corner of the building again. "Alright, one shot…"

"Hold on a mo-"

"Hush. Targeting. Only one shot to reset the unit." She closes one eye, staring down the crosshairs of the device.

The Doctor silently mouths an "Ah," behind her.

Jenny quietly stalks her cyberprey with her eyes, watching its every movement, waiting for the right time to- "Engage!" A burst of lime-green electricity fires from the device, crackling as it flies to meet its appointed target. The energy hits the Kroian unit and for a brief moment, it renders the mercenary motionless. Soon, it dissipates and the unit simply stands in the middle of the now abandoned road.

"Spot on!" Jenny says, a large smile lighting up her face. "And no casualties! Shop closed an hour ago." She turns to face the Doctor, also wearing a small smile. "That's what I call a good day!"

The Doctor's proud smile slips. "Remind me- what are Kroian units supposed to do when they're reset?"

Jenny whips her head around to face the unit again. "It's moving toward us! I don't understand- when they're reset, they're supposed to report to the highest recognized authority figure on the planet!"

"Ah," says the Doctor, remembering now. "That would be me then. 'Scuse me!" He does a little jump-walk around a now confused Jenny, going to talk to the Kroian unit.

"I am unit X-J9," it reports, standing about two feet away from the Doctor. Jenny cautiously walks over to stand behind him, reseter at the ready- just in case.

"Oh! X-J9! Just like that little show they used to have back on Earth. So, then. Highest figure of authority on this planet right now is probably me, eh?"

"That is correct, Doctor."

"Wha-"

"Hush now, Jenny. I need to talk to our friend here about what exactly is going on with the Yaramans. Goranda seeds, am I correct?"

"Among other illegal substances, yes. The Yaraman Corporation is guilty of numerous crimes. Do you wish me to apprehend them?"

"Hold on just a minute!"

"Jenny, just wait a mo. You'll get your turn No, X-J9, probably not the best idea. Probably disable you as soon as they realized you had been reset and then take out your memory banks to see who knows what they are doing now. Best you see yourself off to the nearest Kroian base." He grins childishly. "Doctor's orders!"

"Command received," the unit states simply, soon taking to the skies and exiting the planet's atmosphere.

"Now, Jenny- Umph!"

"Oh, I never thought I'd see you again! Well, I also thought I was dead but- Oh, Dad!" Jenny says, glee written on her features as she hugs the Doctor tightly. He smiles and returns the hug, kissing the top of her head with tears misting his eyes.

"Me too. I'm sorry, Jenny. I really am. I thought that… That you…"

"Oh, it doesn't matter. I've found you now!" Jenny looks up at him, her own green eyes glossy with unshed tears of joy.


	4. Chapter 3

_**Doctor Who**_** and all related characters/places/things are property of the BBC, not me.**

* * *

"Come on! So much to show you!" the Doctor says, walk-skipping with glee as he leads Jenny to where he's parked the TARDIS- an old alleyway behind a coffee shop.

Jenny simply smiles. "This regenerations' tad more energetic then, eh Dad?"

"Which begs the question- how _did_ you find out about regeneration? Besides the obvious, of course." he asks, stopping to fish for the TARDIS key somewhere in his pockets.

"Did my research," Jenny replies, leaning on the bright blue exterior of the TARDIS. "Read up on Time Lords. Since I _am_ one apparently. Well, not exactly… You were right about that."

"I _was_ a bit harsh about that…"

"Not a problem. I get it now. At least, I think I do. It's weird," Jenny says, looking down at her hands. I get these sort of…_echoes_ of memories but I don't always remember them perfectly."

The Doctor studies her with slight concern.

"I suppose it's nothing though," she says, returning her gaze to the Doctor. "So! You going to show me the famous TARDIS or not?"

Flashing her another grin, the Doctor decides to use the more unconventional way of opening the TARDIS. With a snap of his fingers, he proclaims, "Welcome aboard, Jenny!"

* * *

"So what sort of trouble do you think he's managed to tangle himself up in this time?" Rory asks his wife as they slowly walk towards the blue box that they've called their home for some time now. Home, that is, when they weren't chasing down vampires in Venice, assisting a ship haunted by a holographic siren-nurse, or outrunning ox-like monsters.

"Come on, Rory. If he'd managed that we would have heard it by now. Or seen it. Occasionally smelled it."

"True," he says, giving her a kiss on the forehead in the twilight. "I suppose the quiet was nice while it lasted. You got the key?"

"Right here!" Amy says as she takes her own TARDIS key out of her skirt pocket. She inserts the key into the lock, but she pauses. "Wait- do you hear that?" she asks Rory, pressing her ear to the TARDIS' door. "Two voices. I wonder who…"

"Ah! Amelia Pond, there you are!" The Doctor says as she opens the door and they step in. "Wondered if you and Rory had decided to take another tour of the gardens. Fascinating, weren't they? Living metal! Who would have thought of it!"

"Who are you?" Amy asks, seeing Jenny sitting in one of the cushy chairs near the console.

"Amy, Rory," the Doctor says, bounding down the stairs to join them and place an arm around each of their shoulders. "I'd like you to meet my daughter- Jenny!"

"Hello!" Jenny says, waving at them.

Amy's face becomes emotionless, some color draining from it in slight shock.

"Oh, my God," she whispers. "I'm a _grandmother_."

"What?" the Doctor says, giving her a confused look. "Oh! No, no, no, no! Not like that! No! She- Well, it's slightly complicated."

"More complicated than River?" Rory asks, eyeing the Doctor incredulously.

"Ah- good point. No, not that complicated…"

* * *

**A/N: Because what other reaction would Amy have?**


End file.
